Surveillance after resection of colorectal cancer with curative intent is an important component of post-operative care. Clinical review, imaging, colonoscopy, and cost to the community are among significant issues to consider in planning a surveillance regime. This review aims to identify the available evidence for the use of surveillance and its individual components. The literature pertaining to follow-up of patients following potentially curative surgery for colorectal cancer was reviewed in order to formulate a summary of the wide range of clinical practice. There is evidence of improved survival of patients undergoing more intense follow-up compared with those having minimal surveillance, with an estimated overall 5-year gain of up to 10%. The efficacy of individual components of follow-up regimes remains unclear, but an overall package of ‘intensive’ follow-up including clinical review, liver imaging, and colonoscopy appears to be of benefit. It is cost-effective and can be specialist or community-based.

• Colorectal cancer
• Colorectal carcinoma
• Follow-up
• Surveillance
• Post-operative review
• Post-operative imaging
• Post-operative colonoscopy
• Surveillance cost benefit

• Colonoscopy
• Colorectal Neoplasms/diagnosis
• Colorectal Neoplasms/diagnostic imaging
• Colorectal Neoplasms/surgery
• Costs and Cost Analysis
• Humans
• Meta-Analysis as Topic
• Neoplasm Recurrence, Local/diagnosis
• Postoperative Care/methods
• Radiography
• Treatment Outcome

AIM: To study the local recurrent rate and the causes of rectal cancer after surgery.

METHODS: The clinicopathological data of 213 rectal cancer patients and the follow-up information were analyzed. The overall recurrent rate and the recurrent rates from different surgical appreaches were calculated. The main causes of recurrence were investigated.

RESULTS: Among the 213 cases, 73 (34.27%) had local recurrence. The recurrent time ranged from 3 months to 62 months after the first operation. Most of the recurrence (65/73, 89.04%) occurred within 3 years after operation.

CONCLUSION: Local recurrence had no significant correlation with surgical methods or pathological types, but closely related to Dukes’ stages, location of primary tumors and the length of the distal rectum resected. Early resection and a wide tumor free resection margin are key factors to prevent local recurrence.

• Rectal neoplasms/surgery
• rectal neoplasms/pathology
• neoplasm recurrent, local